Half of States Have a Gas Tax Policy That’s a Decade Old

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a new chart this week clearly showing how long it’s been since many states have changed their gas tax policy. In about half the states, it has been a decade or more since they’ve changed their gas tax policy in spite of the changing costs for materials, machines, or projects overall. While a minor policy like indexing or switching to a “variable-rate” tax may seem small, consider what we all learned from the hit movie Office Space – even a fraction of a penny can add up to a lot over time. If we’re going to keep up with America’s growth, we need to start counting our pennies a bit differently.

Here’s a few of the other key findings from this chart:

• Twenty-four states have gone a decade or more without an increase in their gas tax rate.

• Sixteen states have gone two decades or more without a gas tax increase.

• Seven states have not seen an increase in their gas tax rate since the 1980’s or earlier: Alaska, Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

• Among the thirty-two states levying a “fixed-rate” gas tax, the average length of time since the last gas tax increase is 17.2 years.

• Most states levying a more sustainable “variable-rate” gas tax, by contrast, have seen their gas tax rate rise some time in the last twelve months

ASCE urges the 116th Congress to focus on prioritizing infrastructure upgrades and modernization to sustain our economy, public health, and safety. Contact your Member of Congress to urge them to draft and pass legislation that moves toward closing the $2 trillion investment gap.

Senate Appropriators have allocated funding to the High Hazard Potential Dams Program. Write your Members of Congress and ask them to fund this program so that our nation’s “D” dams can receive the investment they need.